By Arpana, IANS

Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh, who was recently honoured with the Bollywood Music Award in New Atlantic City for the title song of "Omkara", says its popularity outstripped his expectations.

"I'm very happy that the results are far better than what we expected. The music of 'Omkara' was unique and fresh. You all know about its extraordinary success. The title song, 'Beedi' and 'Namak ishq ka', got overwhelming response from the listeners. Getting this award in a foreign land was a proud moment for me. I'm feeling great," Sukhwinder told IANS.

Sukhwinder also released his new album "Is Dil Se - Love Never Dies". "With god's grace and love of fans I have reached this position. I am grateful to my fans for appreciating my songs. I'm happy that I'm able to entertain them."

"Is Dil Se" is an amalgamation of eight romantic songs penned by Sameer. It was released by T-Series.

"I think this is the first album to have eight tracks of different moods and situations. The best part of the album is the original songs handpicked and compiled by me. All of them belong to varied genres and this makes it different from regular pop albums."

Sukhwinder belted out quite a few hit songs but none have surpassed the popularity of "Chaiyya-Chaiyya" from "Dil Se".

"I don't think there should be comparisons between songs because every song has its own style and rhythm. If we go through the records of the recent past, it shows that last year alone, Himesh Reshammiya composed almost 30-40 hits. All went on to be super hits. But in between a song like 'Kajra re' also happened and made history not only in India but abroad as well.

"So, be it 'Chaiyya-Chaiyya', or 'Hai hai mirchi' or 'Omkara' or any other song, it is not necessary that all songs will create the same magic."

Sukhwinder gives credit to Rahman for giving his career a new lease of life by giving him the opportunity to sing "Chaiyya-Chaiyya".

"It was Rahman's encouragement that played a bigger role in my success. Recently, we worked together in the Oscar nominated 'Water', 'Bombay Dreams', - the play written by Shekhar Kapoor and produced and directed by Andrew Lloyd Webber - and the Hollywood project 'Inside Man'."

Sukhwinder advocates talent hunt shows, saying: "Talent hunt shows are a great concept. Today, there is no dearth of skilled people in any field but what they need is a suitable platform to showcase their skills and these talent hunt competitions provide that."

After the success of "Omkara" and "Apna Sapna Money Money", the singer is looking forward to "Kaafila" and "Ek Dastak".